


I'm home.

by fiery_phoenix



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fae, Brief mentions of injury, Dragons, Family Fluff, Family Reunions, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Light Angst, Promise, Reunions, Sleepy Bois Inc as Family, it's resolved vv quickly, thats it i think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:15:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28233759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fiery_phoenix/pseuds/fiery_phoenix
Summary: Tubbo catches a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eyes. He readies his bow and slowly stalks forward, making sure to steer clear of the twigs littering the ground.He reaches an opening with a large tree in the center, and comes face to face with a man that looks like he’s seen better days.Tubbo draws his bow, and meets the man’s eyes above the tip of his arrow.“Don’t take another step.”-Or: Tubbo finds Phil in the middle of the jungle and initiates an accidental family reunion
Relationships: Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, TommyInnit & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 126
Collections: Completed stories I've read, the writer's block's Secret Santa





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MistBorn_SprenDeath](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MistBorn_SprenDeath/gifts).



> just a quick note I may change the title to something more fitting if I can fucking figure something out /lh
> 
> Anyway, hiiii mistyyy:) I hope this meets ur expectations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tubbo catches a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eyes. He readies his bow and slowly stalks forward, making sure to steer clear of the twigs littering the ground.
> 
> He reaches an opening with a large tree in the center, and comes face to face with a man that looks like he’s seen better days.
> 
> Tubbo draws his bow, and meets the man’s eyes above the tip of his arrow.
> 
> “Don’t take another step.”  
> -  
> Or: Tubbo finds an injured Philza Minecraft in the middle of the jungle and promptly initiates an accidental family reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a quick note I may change the title to something more fitting if I can fucking figure something out /lh
> 
> Anyway, hiiii mistyyy:) I hope this meets ur expectations

The leaves strewn across the forest floor steadily crunch under the man’s feet, heavy and following no particular rhythm. Sun shines down in between the leaves of the towering trees populating the jungle.

The man walks with one hand clutching the steadily bleeding wound on his stomach, the other to his side, fidgeting with his robe. He strains his ears for any nearby threats, while also constantly checking behind himself.

 _Can’t be too safe,_ he thinks. 

It can’t have been any longer than a week that he’s been on the run. He’s lucky that he was able to make it this far. He doesn’t know what he would’ve done if they managed to catch him again.

_Plus, the towering trees provide much more cover than I could ever ask for._

He can work with this.

He stumbles when his foot catches on an overgrown root from a nearby tree. Righting himself takes effort, and by the time he’s upright his breath is coming out in short gasps, vision thinning.

His heart beats loud in his ears, and his entire body _aches_. 

(Some parts he can’t feel at all, but he’d rather not dig into that anytime soon.)

He doesn’t want to check to see how much he’s bled. Those were the last of his bandages, and he’s still days from the next village.

When he hears a twig snap up ahead, and the drawing of a taut bow, he hopes for a better life, next time around.

* * *

It’s a good day to be alive, Tubbo thinks. He’s got a family, a place to stay, and food to-

“ _Fuck!_ ”

Tubbo sighs.

“Tommy?”

He hears banging around outside their room, but no response.

“Tommy!”

The banging stops. Tubbo pokes his head out of the doorway, and locks eyes with a sheepish Tommy, absolutely _Covered_ in some sort of powder that Tubbo doesn’t even want to identify, tail swishing behind him.

“Uh… hi?”

Tubbo levels the most deadpan glare he can manage at his friend.

Tommy shakes himself out of his stupor, attempting to dust himself off but only succeeding in getting the powder absolutely _everywhere_ , both on and off his body. The regular reds of his outfit are barely visible past the white powder, making it look like he just decided to bleach it, looking more pink than anything else.

“Hey, big T! How’d you feel about making a short trip today? Not too long, of course, just-”

Tubbo chuckles fondly. “What did you do, Tommy.”

Tommy lets out an indignant squawk, trying desperately to act natural, but his flicking tail and ears pressed ever so slightly against his head show that he’s embarrassed. “Well, uh- nothing bad, of course! I just got a teensy bit but hungry in the middle of the night and you know how we’ve been meaning to go out and go hunting cause we’ve been running out for a little while now? So I just figured might as well finish it off if we’re going hunting soon anyway, you know?” 

“Sure. You stay here today, though. Work on getting-” Tubbo gives him a one-over, “-whatever that is, cleaned up. Might as well gather what crops are ready while you’re at it, yeah? That way we’re not _completely_ out of food.”

Tommy grumbles but straightens up anyway and gives Tubbo a mock salute, before heading off to get started. Tubbo watches his retreating back, and heads to their shared room to get changed and grab his supplies.

-

The jungle is quieter than it usually is, Tubbo notes. Luckily, that doesn’t mean all the livestock is gone; just further away.

He spots a small grouping of cows. Three adults, and two cattle. He can work with that.

Living in the woods had taken some getting used to. Away from his birth parents, he no longer had food readily made for him, No longer could he fix up cuts and bruises with a short trip to the town’s doctor. Tubbo had to figure out living alone, he and his little family.

It was harder at first. Tubbo’s lucky that he had some survival classes when he was younger, or else he would’ve completely exhausted the forest’s food source in one week. He had to hunt further away, and make sure there were plenty of baby livestock to grow up and repopulate what he took away.

When he first learned of this world’s abnormal logic, allowing young animals to breach adulthood and become fully grown in a week’s time compared to humans’ slow maturing, he thought it weird, if a little cool. Now, he couldn’t be more grateful. Food doesn’t take long to replenish itself, and the ecosystem thrives.

Now, living with two adults and a fucking _dragon_ , he’s ever glad for the funky logic of this universe.

He shoots the three adult cows with pinpoint accuracy and, as the cattle scuttle away, he gathers the meat dropped and packs it away - another odd advantage. (Tubbo’s not sure what he would do if he actually had to strip animals of their meat by hand. He gags at the thought.)

Wandering further into the forest, Tubbo catches a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eyes. He readies his bow and slowly stalks forward, making sure to steer clear of the twigs littering the ground.

Tubbo reaches an opening with a large tree in the center, and comes face to face with a man that looks like he’s seen better days.

He’s clutching a wound that’s bled through the bandages around his torso, the other hand steadying him against a tree. The man looks wise, like he’s been through too much in far too little time. He’s wearing a silly little bucket hat, striped white and green, fit on top of his chin-length blond hair. He’s got on a large green cloak adorned with a few chains, and if Tubbo were to look a little closer, he’d say that even the man’s _skin_ looks a little green.

Tubbo draws his bow, and meets the man’s eyes above the tip of his arrow.

_“Don’t take another step.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> forgot to mention that this is inspired by em0ki 's fae au on tiktok!! go check her out:)


	2. Chapter 2

_ “Don’t take another step.” _

The man may be injured, but he still has value for his own life, so he complies, albeit a little perplexed. 

“Hold on, mate..! I won’t hurt you...!”

He attempts, holding up his free hand in attempts to placate the other. A droplet of sweat trails down the man’s face.

The other looks to be a boy in his late teens, though the man tries not to let his guard down. He’s seen younger, in the place he escaped from.

The boy is holding a worn bow, string pulled taut, arrow pointing right between his eyeballs. He has scruffy brown hair, and appears to be about half a foot shorter than the man. He’s wearing mostly green, and if not for the bow pointed at him, the man would deem the boy to be quite friendly.

Looking back to the boy’s eyes, the man is surprised to see a flash of panic cross his eyes.

“Oh my god, you’re hurt!”

..Ah.

“Just a few scrapes, I’ll be alright..!”  _ What are his intentions? _

The boy furrows his brow, before removing the arrow from his bow and returning both the arrow and the bow to their respective places on his back. He takes a wary step forward, “Don’t worry, I have a friend who can help!” and steadies the man with an arm around his shoulder.

The man doesn’t know what to make of this. On one hand, he could refuse and try to escape, and hope he makes it to the next village in time. On the other, this boy doesn’t  _ radiate _ ill-intent, and if he’s really telling the truth, the man doesn’t want to refuse treatment for the, quite frankly, concerning wound on his stomach. Notch only knows how he’s survived up until this point.

The man decides to trust this boy, for now.

The two steadily make their way deeper through the jungle, before coming up on a pleasant looking home. There are three people outside, two of them engaged in what appears to be a friendly battle, one harnessing light in one hand, a book in the other, the other harnessing fire in both hands. There’s another man off to the side, watching with what looks to be a resigned fondness in his eyes, polishing a sword on his lap. 

The home has vines hanging from every which way, potted plants on nearly every windowsill, and generally looks, well,  _ magical. _

The man with a ball of light in his hand is tall, and has fish fins protruding from where a regular human’s ears would be, though his fins are largely covered with fluffy brown hair. His appearance is rather friendly, a couple potions on his belt, a puffy, light orangey-yellow witch hat on his head.

The other man, with the sword in his lap, is off to the side. His appearance is more regal, a white blouse and plain black pants held together with a pristine red cummerbund. He has long, straight pink hair which ends at about mid-back. This man is quite intimidating, which is probably helped by the massive sword he has on his lap.

The third and last one, looks to be a boy around the same age as the one that found the man in the first place. He’s blond, and despite the two balls of fire he’s playing around with in his hands, he has a certain  _ spark _ in his eyes that the man can’t help but find familiar. At the angle he’s facing, the man can see his long white ears, tipped with red, and two red-tipped white horns protruding from the top of his head.

Apparently sensing the eyes on him, the boy turns and meets the man’s eyes, and freezes.

“Phil...?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorryyy I'm shit at managing chapters so they're gonna be really uneven in length


	3. Chapter 3

“Phil...?”

Tubbo watches as tears cloud the man- no, Phil’s eyes. Phil stumbles out of his hold, and practically leaps towards Tommy, crushing him in a hug and wrapping- _wings?!_ \- around Tommy. Both Wilbur and Techno seem to be equally surprised, watching on with wide eyes.

They’d only ever heard of a “Phil” in passing, hearing Tommy recount fond memories from the leader (though he said everyone liked to tease him and call him their father) of his valour. (That’s what they call colonies of dragons, Tubbo remembers Tommy saying.) He never really told them why he left, but they could tell they weren’t happy memories, so they let him be.

Now, with Tommy near _bawling_ in this man’s arms, they realized how important he was to Tommy. The two seemed to be having a silent conversation, Tubbo seeing Tommy’s mouth moving in incomprehensible shapes, possibly just babbling, but he could tell that Phil was absorbing every word.

Tubbo skirted around the two, and took a place beside Wilbur, silently explaining the state he had found the man in. Wilbur nodded, knowing what was being asked of him, and before he could step towards the two to treat Phil, the man had sagged visibly in Tommy’s hold, his wings going limp.

“ _Phil!_ ” Tommy cried, doing his best to keep the man standing, before looking to Wilbur with fresh tears threatening to spill. “Wilbur, you gotta help him-”

Wilbur was at his side in a second, helping Tommy lift the now-unconscious man and leading them towards the door. Tubbo opened it for them, Techno now trailing them, and shut it behind them once they’d all piled in their house. Wilbur led them towards their barely-used medical room, where he kept the majority of his potions that could be of aid in emergencies like these.

They lay the man on the only bed in the room, before predictably ushering Tommy and Tubbo out to the hall.

(Tubbo understood that it was so they didn’t have to see how badly the man had been hurt, so they could work with absolute efficiency, but he could tell that Tommy was still hurt by the notion that he couldn’t be by his father’s side when he needed it most.)

(Tubbo could tell Tommy knew, too, as he crumpled to the ground beside the door.)

Tubbo slides down to sit next to Tommy, looking towards the other and opening his arms as an invitation. Tommy didn’t hesitate to bury himself in Tubbo’s arms, grasping the back of Tubbo’s shirt like his life depended on it.

Tubbo gently places one hand on the other’s back, the other burying itself in his blond hair, softly dragging his nails across his scalp, a motion that had helped calm the other countless times before.

Tubbo could feel the cloth around his shoulder wetting, and held Tommy a fraction tighter than before. 

“He’s going to get through this, alright? We’ve got two incredible healers on our side. He’ll be good as new in no time.”

“I know.. I just. God, Tubbo, I missed him so fucking much. What if the last time I ever got to see him was when I couldn’t even do anything to help?”

Tubbo fiddled with Tommy’s ears, considering his next words.

“Even if that’s the case, which I’m sure isn’t, then he’ll have died knowing you’re safe, alright? But I know he’ll get through it. He’s strong, right? You’d never let us believe otherwise!”

Tommy sniffled pathetically, before raising his head to look at Tubbo. “Yeah... Thanks, big T. You’re right.”

Tubbo simply ruffled Tommy’s hair, giving him a cheeky grin. “Aren’t you supposed to be the one that’s always right?”

“Oh piss off! You know what I mean!”

The boys laugh, spirits higher.

“Yeah, I do.”

-

By the time the door to the medical room opened, Tommy was dozing off against Tubbo’s shoulder, dried tear tracks still visible on his cheeks. Wilbur poked his head out, searching, when Tubbo cleared his throat softly.

“Hey, Wil. How is he?”

Wilbur’s gaze flew down to the boys nestled right at the edge of the door, eyes softening at the sight of the sleeping boy.

“He’ll make it.”


	4. Chapter 4

The days passed, and before they knew it, Phil had been resting for a week.

Tommy spent most of his time with the comatose man, dramatically re-telling his stories of how he met the others, how cool it was when Tubbo protected him for the first time, how he wishes Phil could’ve been there with him.

He told Phil about Wilbur, his friendly nature hiding a heart of steel underneath an unassuming surface. About Techno, and how the man liked to act aloof, but they all knew that he would tear kingdoms apart if it meant his family was safe. About Tubbo, his best friend, a loving boy that could match Tommy’s energy without a second glance, Tubbo who sometimes caught even Techno off guard with his chaotic nature. Tubbo, who very well may be the reason Tommy got to see Phil again.

He would talk about how Tubbo taught him to read, despite his own lackluster abilities in reading. He spoke about how Tubbo worked the hardest to understand him, despite being the most human of all of them. He thanked Phil, for never letting him form a bad opinion on humans, despite the fact that humans were the only reason they were separated in the first place.

Sometimes, Tubbo would visit with Tommy, telling Phil about the amazing progress Tommy made in controlling his temper, his powers. Telling him about how amazingly he raised the boy, and thanking him for doing so.

The others would visit too, occasionally. Techno mostly sat alone, reading silently, but sometimes the others would hear him quoting Sun Tzu to Phil from the other side of the closed door. Wilbur would sing for Phil, would recount stories of his travels and how the man’s son and his best friend saved his life one day.

They would keep tabs on Phil’s state, taking care of him to the utmost of their abilities, despite the fact that he never asked them to.

(It was a silent agreement among them. They’d die for the man that would do the same for Tommy. Would do the same for them, Tommy would always say, if he ever met them. Once he met them, the others would always correct.)

-

It was a week and two days after they’d brought Phil in that he awoke. It was on the rare occasion that all four of them were piled into the room. Wilbur was strumming his guitar, singing softly for the others. Techno was reading in the corner, but they could tell he appreciated Wilbur’s singing. Tubbo and Tommy were leaning against each other, Tommy gripping Phil’s hand and Tubbo clutching Tommy’s arm, sleeping.

Tommy first blamed it on him being half-asleep when he thought he felt Phil squeeze his hand. So, he squeezed back, snuggling a but more into Tubbo.

Then, almost unnoticeably, he felt his hand be squeezed, again.

His eyes shot open, looking towards Phil, and he almost broke into tears right then and there when he saw Phil’s kind green eyes staring back.

“Phil...?”

Phil’s eyes softened, and a small smile curved his face upwards.

“Hey, Toms.”

Phil’s voice was soft and rough from disuse, but the amount of love Tommy could  _ feel _ poured into two simple words broke the dam and tears started rushing out. 

Tommy pried Tubbo’s grip off of his arm and wrapped his arms around Phil’s body, being as gentle as he could manage so as not to irritate his healing-but-not-yet-healed injuries.

“Tommy, Toms, my boy, my  _ son, I missed you so much,”  _ and Phil was crying now too, squeezing Tommy so tight that he nearly couldn’t breathe. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Tommy pulled back with a watery smile.

“Right back atcha, old man.”

“Oh my god, does this mean you’ll finally stop calling me old?” A grumbling voice came from the corner of the room.

Tommy turned to face Techno, sticking his tongue out playfully, though the desired effect was instantly ruined by Tommy’s puffy, red-rimmed eyes.

“Shut the fuck up, old man, we were having a moment.”

Phil let out a huff of soft laughter and Techno simply rolled his eyes before returning his attention to his book. Wilbur knocked on the door gently before coming in, (when had he left, Tommy couldn’t tell you) and placed a glass of water on the bedside table.

“Glad to see you awake, Mr. Philza. Tommy’s told us lots about you.”

Phil smiled at Wilbur. “Just Phil’s fine, and nothing bad, I hope?” He raised an eyebrow in Tommy’s direction.

“Oh, just about how cool and awesome and  _ pogge-mmf! _ ”

Tommy spun around and muffled Tubbo’s words with his hand, which was promptly licked, and Tommy pulled his hand back with an “Ew, Tubbo! What the fuck!” and wiped his hand vigorously against his pants.

From behind him, Tommy could hear Phil giggling quietly. He turned to the man with a betrayed look, “I thought you were on my side!”

In the time that Tommy had turned to deal with Tubbo, Wilbur had helped Phil sit up in bed so he could drink his water. “No, no, I am,” He smiled.

...

“You think I’m ‘ _ poggers’ _ ?”

“Oh, come on!”

Phil laughed harder at this, then grabbed Tommy’s hand with one of his own.

“I missed you, kiddo.”

“...I missed you too, dad.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter five (the epilogue) will come as soon as I'm able to come up with something hella fluffy i promise


	5. Epilogue

“Tommy-  _ Tommy! _ ” Phil cried, “What are you  _ doing?! _ ”

Tommy looks up, fists full of what appears to be raw meat, with a somewhat guilty and deer-in-the-headlights look on his face. “Uhhh.... I can explain?”

It’s the middle of the night, and Phil had been sleeping peacefully,  _ had been, _ until he awoke to the sound of war cries and a blinding flash of fire outside of his window. 

(They had built him a room in the time he was comatose, in case he wanted to stay. He was eternally grateful, and quickly became another part of their somewhat dysfunctional family, now months later.)

“Get to explaining, then!”

Tommy had his wings unfurled from his back, and if it weren’t for Phil’s eyes easily adjusting to the darkness, he would’ve thought Tommy to be some sort of horrific wild gargoyle come to life. 

He was hunched over a nearly-dead sheep, like some sort of savage, eyes blazing and up to his elbows in-  _ I’m not even gonna think about what that is, _ Phil thought grimly.

(It seems to be a habit in their silly little family to simply not try to identify whatever Tommy’s covered in, when he comes home absolutely drenched in some mysterious substance.)

“I was... hungry?”

“Tommy, we just went hunting a few days ago! We  _ literally have food at home! _ ”

Phil’s wings and horns were on proud display, something he’d only felt safe enough to do for the past month or so. Of course, he still hid them sometimes so they weren’t a nuisance, but he never had to check his surroundings to make sure he was alone anymore, no longer had to sleep with a lock on his door lest they barge in on him in all of his winged glory. 

Funny how things can suddenly change for the better. Phil’s not complaining.

“I didn’t come, though! I’ve just been doing boring shit for the past couple of weeks, I’ve barely even sparred with Techno!”

Phil remembers that Tommy had been banished to helping Wilbur fix his guitar back up after an unfortunate accident including  _ flame _ and  _ flammable object. _ Of course, the damage wasn’t permanent, and by the time the others had returned with spoils from their hunt, the guitar was as good as new, now adorned with a sweet little design Tommy had painted on when the guilt had gotten a bit too much.

All had been forgiven, of course, but Wilbur makes sure to keep his guitar in a more secure place, now.

Tommy wipes his dirty hands on his white pants, (Phil groans in agony on the inside) and flies up to a perch on a nearby tree. After making sure the poor sheep was successfully put out of its misery, he flew up after Tommy, settling down on a stable wide branch Tommy seems to have fashioned into a little sitting-space.

“How has your training been going, lately? I haven’t heard much from you, but Tech seems to be looking forward to your guys’ sessions more, lately.”

Tommy training with Technoblade is more for mutual release than it is for getting stronger, due to their largely different fighting styles and strengths, but Phil can tell they both benefit from it, because of the inherent need to  _ hunt,  _ to  _ hurt,  _ embedded in their millennia-old genes, but also so that they have experience fighting a more diverse playing field.

“Good, it’s been going.... good.”

Phil can tell Tommy’s holding something back.

“But?”

“But, I don’t know... I haven’t really been able to practice my magic very often, lately. We’ve been preparing for winter, which I understand, but I’m starting to go a little stir crazy.”

It’s been awhile since Phil’s seen Tommy this quiet, and it hurts him, deep deep down, to see his boy so somber even if over something so easily fixable. 

“Would you like to practice with me?”

Tommy visibly perks up, and Phil smiles. “Really?”

“Yes, really. It’s been too long since we’ve done it last, don’t you think?”

Tommy seems to be getting more and more excited by the second. “Yeah.. yeah, it has! You better watch out, old man, I bet I’ve surpassed even you!”

(Both Tommy and Phil know that’s a lie, and they both know the other knows it, too. Still, for Tommy’s sake, they pretend it’s true.)

“Yeah? Guess you’ll have to prove it then, huh? But first, clean yourself up, and  _ sleep _ , we’ll do tomorrow.”

Phil ignores Tommy’s whining, and eventually the boy quiets down, knowing there’s no way Phil’s gonna budge on this. Still, he complains the whole way down, but lowers the complaints down to a whisper once they enter the house, lest he wake the others and suffer their wraths.

Phil branches off towards his bedroom, and Tommy goes to wash up, with the promise of a day of catching up and fun ahead of them.

(If, the next day, after all taking a day off and helping each other with their own special traits, they all fall asleep in one big pile of love and warmth, it’s their little secret.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay I'm sorry if that was a bit of a disappointing ending, ik this chapter was really short I'm just genuinely shit and finishing things off I'm so sorry :sob:
> 
> (Anyway, hope you enjoyed!!)


End file.
